charging ahead

December 20, 2007

New battery technology could help hybrid vehicles run longer and cleaner.

Open the back of any cell phone or laptop and chances are you will find a compact, lightweight, rechargeable lithium-ion battery. This small wonder has revolutionized consumer electronics, enabling the devices we use every day to weigh less and run longer.

What if we used similar technology in hybrid cars and other vehicles powered by electricity? Could lithium-ion batteries revolutionize the cars we drive as well?  

Most hybrid vehicles on the road today use an internal combustion engine in tandem with an electric motor and a nickel metal hydride (NiMH) battery pack. These components work together such that vehicle performance is adjusted to better match driving requirements, providing greater fuel economy and lower carbon emissions.

With lithium-ion batteries, these vehicles could be even more efficient. Lithium-ion batteries are smaller, lighter and more powerful than NiMH batteries, and have the potential to be more cost-effective than current batteries.

Improvements in lithium-ion batteries therefore could help lead to widespread utilization of more efficient hybrid vehicles. But here’s a catch. Lithium-ion batteries are sensitive to heat. High temperatures reduce the battery’s lifetime and can pose reliability concerns.

In lithium-ion batteries for electronic applications, a plastic film separator within the battery protects it from short-circuiting and overheating. But if you scale the battery up to the size required for a vehicle, that separator may not be adequate.

Until now. Researchers at ExxonMobil’s Chemical Company have used hydrocarbon-based polymers to develop a new separator film that greatly improves the safety, power and reliability of larger lithium-ion batteries for hybrid vehicles. This new technology could, with continued cost reductions, usher in a new generation of hybrid vehicles with even greater savings of energy, cost and emissions.

Through innovations like these, ExxonMobil is helping make vehicles more efficient. We believe that advances in technology are the solution to many of the toughest energy challenges. Our scientists and researchers are committed to finding and applying those technologies where we can, including on the car you drive.

ExxonMobil is working with leading battery manufacturers to bring this new technology to the next generation of hybrid vehicles. Thanks to this groundbreaking work, the batteries we use — and the economic and environmental benefits they bring — are charging ahead.